Poorer language ability has been shown to predict the development of externalizing behavior problems such as aggression and conduct problems. However, the developmental process that links poorer language ability to externalizing problems is unclear. The present study examined (a) whether withinchild changes in language ability predict within-child changes in externalizing problems, (b) whether social skills are a potential mechanism that explains the association between language ability and externalizing problems, and (c) whether there are sex-related differences in the association between language ability and externalizing problems. The present study examined these questions in children (N 1,364) followed annually from 4 to 10 years of age. Language ability was assessed by a measure of receptive language (i.e., vocabulary). Externalizing problems were rated by mothers and teachers. Social skills were rated by mothers, fathers, and teachers. Findings showed that within-child changes in language ability predicted within-child changes in externalizing problems, even controlling for the family’s income-to-needs ratio. We found that social skills partially mediated the association between poorer language ability and later externalizing problems, but this was limited to a between-person effect. There was not strong evidence of sex-related differences in the association. Findings suggest that language ability may play a role in the development of externalizing problems for boys and girls, and that social skills may be a mechanism that partially explains how poorer language ability leads to the development of externalizing problems. Or, alternatively, language ability, social skills, and externalizing problems may partially share common causes.

中文翻译：

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语言能力在儿童外化行为问题的发展中。

较弱的语言能力已被证明可以预测外化行为问题的发展，例如攻击性和行为问题。然而，将较差的语言能力与外化问题联系起来的发展过程尚不清楚。本研究检验 (a) 儿童内在语言能力的变化是否能预测外化问题的内在变化，(b) 社交技能是否是解释语言能力与外化问题之间关联的潜在机制，以及 (c) 是否存在语言能力与外化问题之间关联的性别相关差异。本研究在每年 4 至 10 岁的儿童 (N 1,364) 中检查了这些问题。语言能力是通过衡量接受语言（即词汇）来评估的。外化问题由母亲和老师评定。社会技能由母亲、父亲和老师评定。研究结果表明，儿童内部语言能力的变化预测了外部化问题的内部变化，甚至控制了家庭的收入与需求比率。我们发现社交技能在一定程度上调节了较差的语言能力与后来的外化问题之间的关联，但这仅限于人际效应。没有强有力的证据表明该关联中存在与性别相关的差异。研究结果表明，语言能力可能在男孩和女孩外化问题的发展中发挥作用，社交技能可能是一种机制，部分解释了较差的语言能力如何导致外化问题的发展。或者，或者，语言能力，